The band released their debut full length album in the summer of 1983. Confusion Is Sex is a continuation of the assault found on the debut EP, but here they seem to be getting a grip on the noise instead of the noise getting away from them. It's still a tough listen for almost anybody except their fans; the "songs" aren't really songs as much as they are sonic fragments; the sound is murkey, the feedback and weird tunings create quite a din; a brief cover of Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is tossed in for cultural reference. What lyrics that were audible over it all sounded sociopathic and bi-polar. Once again, they produced music that seemed to demand closer listen even as it repelled; with the hindsight of two decades however, one can see the blueprint that was being laid. Despite the growth and maturity that would follow, this chaos is what has always laid at the heart of the band.
A European tour followed, cementing the band's reputation as the anti-rock and word of mouth followed by underground press notice helped them build their audience almost brick by brick. Another EP, Kill Yr Idols, was released on a German label.
Indeed, their rise was arduous. In early 1984, Moore tried to land a deal with Doublevision records, a British indie label; the label rejected the demos, but one of the owners became a believer, setting up a new label Blast First which was to be distributed through Rough Trade, specifically to find an outlet for the band. In the interim, a cassette only release Sonic Youth live kept the band in circulation.
Their first Blast First album, Bad Moon Rising, came out in 1985. This was the album that broke them in the underground music press. Bad Moon Rising was the true step forward. Without sacrificing any of the Branca-esque tonalities, they instead applied them to a coherent set of songs. Moore and Gordon's vocals get more prominence, and what rises to the surface is dreamy like a hallucination; morbid and foreboding, but bordering on melody with interruptions of screeching dissonance and crashes of percussion. This album is still a very tough listen for rock fans raised on safe music; however, those who have gotten acclimated to this band will find much to enjoy here. "Death Valley '69", a Charles Manson reference, guest stars avant-garde vocalist Lydia Lunch.
Article comments
1 - The Theory
nice write up. Sonic Youth has been one of my favorites for a while... though I tend to drift more toward 90s material... the material SY fans tend to scoff at, like Experimental Jet Set... whereas I cannot really enjoy listening to "Daydream Nation"
2 - beben
i from indonesia. i verylike song from sonic youth. grunge never die
3 - Diamond Sea
Well written, though NYC Ghosts & Flowers and Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star are both great albums imo and i don't consider them a failure.
I was a bit sceptical about their new 2006 album, Rather Ripped, but after listening to it lots of times i tend to like it a lot too !